What on Earth 75

WHAT ON

EARTH FRIENDS OF THE EARTH SCOTLAND’S SUPPORTERS MAGAZINE

Issue 75 I Summer 2018

issues and counting!

WHAT ON

H T R A E T L A N D’S RT H S C O F T H E E A AGA Z IN E O S D N F R IE TERS M SUPPOR 018

Summer 2 Issue 75 I

Friends of the Earth Scotland is: > Scotland’s leading environmental campaigning organisation > An independent Scottish charity with a network of thousands of supporters and active local groups across Scotland > Part of the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, uniting over 2 million supporters, 75 national member groups and 5,000 local activist groups

C O N T E N TS

Our vision is of a world where everyone can enjoy a healthy environment and a fair share of the earth’s resources.

What On Earth is 75

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Friends of the Earth Scotland is an independent Scottish charity SC003442

Reflections on 40 years ago

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What on Earth is published by and copyrighted to: Friends of the Earth Scotland 5 Rose Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PR

Scotland's new Climate Bill

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T: 0131 243 2700 E: info@foe.scot W: www.foe.scot

Fracking in court

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Pop Up Parks

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Challenging the power of fossil fuels

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Editor: Connal Hughes Cover: Photo collage of previous WOE issues.

Arranged and taken by Ric Lander Design: Emma Quinn The views expressed in What on Earth are not necessarily those of Friends of the Earth Scotland.

FoES accepts no liability for errors, omissions or incorrect data in advertisements.

If you would prefer to receive a digital version of What on Earth please contact us: info@foe.scot Printed on Cocoon silk 100% recycled paper

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Director’s view Dr Richard Dixon, Director @Richard_Dixon What on Earth has reached its 75th edition, we are in our 40th year of campaigning, and we’ve recently reached several other major milestones.

A year after 20,000 people told the Scottish Government to aim higher in a new Climate Bill, that Bill has been published.

Those 20,000 people have been ignored. The Government claims to be world leading but the new targets are way short of what Scotland would need to do to make a fair contribution to global efforts to stabilise the climate. So the fight is on for the next nine months or so to see if we can turn the current lacklustre draft Bill into a Climate Act we can be proud of, just as we had to do 10 years ago. FoES has been calling for climate targets for more than 20 years.

In these pages you’ll read about our trip to court to take on Ineos over the fracking ban. This went well from our perspective, but the whole thing may be back in the same court in just a few months. Taking legal action, which always has financial risks attached, is not a decision the organisation took lightly, with our last trip to court 7 years ago.

With some final decisions recently made by Glasgow City Council, we now have the prospect of a Low Emission Zone operating in the city from the turn of the year. It is nothing like as tough as we would want but there would be no Zone at all, and little action to reduce pollution, if it were not for our 5 years of campaigning on air pollution from traffic.

With the climate targets to argue over, the fracking fight far from over and the next 3 LEZs to influence, there is, as ever, plenty to do.

The fight is on to see if we can turn the current lacklustre draft Bill into a Climate Act we can be proud of.

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What on Earthis

75 We have been publishing What on Earth since March 1992 when the team decided they needed to better communicate their work to the public. The magazine has expanded and contracted since then, adding pages and features as tastes and times have changed.

Throughout this time it has remained an important, dependable link with our most important audience – you, our members.

As you can see from this issue’s front cover it has certainly changed its look with the prevailing fashion over the intervening quarter century.

From the simple report-like cover of issue 1 to the digitally designed reimagining of an early membership leaflet for the cover of issue 74, we’ve seen a huge array of fonts and photos.

The first edition focused on air pollution and transport problems with activists monitoring pollution levels and submitting a complaint to the European Community office in Edinburgh.

Regular readers will know there are still serious pollution problems across Scotland but significant progress has been made in both understanding and addressing this issue.

The relationship with Europe has changed somewhat too!

A key theme of the magazine which can be seen right from issue 1 was the connection to the wider international network of environmental action.

This global outlook has allowed FoES to share stories and successes from right across the world; the damaging effect of tourism in Nepal, the indigenous Cofan community who live between Ecuador and Colombia, to hearing about the work of our allies La Via Campesina in Indonesia.

What on Earth has also championed the fantastic work of our local groups; highlighting actions, events and initiatives across the decades. We’ve included quirkier features on ‘How to have an eco baby,’ the best green fashion tips and gadgets plus a healthly supply of fascinating book reviews.

Looking back through old issues gives you a new lens on our current work. Whilst it is disappointing to see that some of the same battles from decades ago still have to be fought, the public knowledge of other campaign issues has progressed significantly in that time.

Beyond that, there are the victories that have endured, that have changed Scotland and provided great protections for our environment.

And they’re the stories we all enjoy reading about.

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News in Brief Environmental Rights We were delighted when the Scottish Conservatives came out in support of a specialist Environmental Court earlier this year. This support from the opposition combined with the looming Brexit governance gap puts a specialist Court ďŹ rmly back on the agenda as a critical means to improve environmental rights in Scotland. Meanwhile, we’re sitting on the reference group to the First Minister’s Expert Advisory Group on Human Rights where we are highlighting continued lack of compliance with the Aarhus Convention and pointing to a new Court as a key part of the solution.

Planning Bill The campaign for a fairer planning system is growing with over 1,000 people having written to their MSPs, and 85 community councils, charities and academics writing to the Local Government Minister calling for an Equal Right of Appeal (ERA) to level the playing ďŹ eld between communities and developers. The Labour Party has come out in support of ERA, while the Committee’s report at stage 1 of the Planning Bill accepted many of the recommendations put forward by Scottish Environment LINK and urged the Scottish Government to look again at appeal rights.

Plastic Cotton Bud Ban The Scottish Government consulted on its plans to ban plastic cotton buds. We welcome the move and are calling for the ban to include cotton buds made with so called ‘bio-plastics’, which cause many of the same problems as traditional plastics, and to ensure that alternative stems are sourced sustainably, avoiding unintended knock on impacts such as increased pressure on land. Over 500 people have taken action calling for a strong ban and further measures to tackle plastic waste at the root of the problem.

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40

We are

One of the founding members of Friends of the Earth Scotland and the first Chair of FoE International, Mairi MacArthur, writes to us reflecting on her time with FoE 40 years ago.

I first heard of Friends of the Earth while working in Toronto in the mid-1970s. The words sounded benevolent but what did they mean? Later I took the long way home, westwards, seeing more of the Earth than I could ever imagine from the windows of many buses, one plane, three ferries and a Trans-Siberian railway carriage.

By late 1977 I had discovered FoE Edinburgh, some of whom remain Friends and friends to this day. In addition to “acquaintance”, the Scots word “freen” and Gaelic “caraid” carry an extra layer of meaning: that of a close family bond. I then learned that, in 1969, David Brower had wanted his new radical organisation in the US to have sister groups across the globe, and to be called after his hero, emigrant Scot John Muir who signed his address ‘Earthplanet, Universe’. But Brower’s wife Anne suggested an alternative: a name that implied comradeship and belonging, together in a common home. Plus it had the bonus of a punchy acronym.

I could add little expertise to the many campaigns already active in FoE, but I could take shorthand and type. That was my day job at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations which at the time was helping the voluntary sector prepare for the proposed devolved Assembly: everything from improving lobbying skills to constituting separate Scottish bodies. The FoE groups had first met together in Dundee, early in 1977, to discuss those very matters. That was the real start.

Back then communicating meant just getting the word out – literally.

So, I was happy to type: dozens of minutes, press releases, letters, draft constitutions; hundreds of leaflets; thousands of words.

The typeface changed as my sturdy manual was overtaken by an electric ‘golfball’ machine – hey, we could now type in italics!

The hi-tech world crept in, but slowly. We pondered getting a new-fangled answering machine for the office’s single landline; another day I stared in wonder as Xanthe Jay, our first full-time Campaigner, sent her first Fax message.

Are you in earnest?

Seize this very minute: What you can do, or dream you can, begin it.

Goethe

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Mairi MacArthur in her Strathpeffer garden with David Chatfield, visiting from Portland Oregon in 2017. Thanks to his wife, Jo Ann, for the photo. In the 1980s David’s job at FoE US was to build and foster links with environmental groups around the world. He recalled 1982, when Scotland hosted the network: “Mostly I remember a crisply chaired meeting and lots of fun with the best group I worked with at FoE.”

Action stepped up and spoke ever louder, underpinned by all those words, not that those directed at us were always supportive. We were ‘latterday Luddites’, despite our many job creation ideas, and the fact that ecology and economy both have the Greek word for ‘home’ at their root. A press release on the risks of nuclear power, from Mary McClintock and Fiona Riddoch in the Edinburgh office, was scorned by a daily paper as ‘the wailing of banshees’. Did the hack not know his folklore? A banshee’s role was to warn of disaster, her cry was taken seriously… and she was always dressed in green.

Of course we were also ‘cranks’, basically a word for a small, effective instrument that gets something started. Which we did. It was a small craft that floated out 40 years ago, into uncertain waters which all at FoES today continue to navigate with impressive authority, knowledge, dedication – and boldness, the quality which “has genius, power and magic in it” according to lines translated from Goethe and often quoted by Brower. He also said: “A ship in harbour is safe.

But that’s not what ships are built for.”

So, FoE Scotland, keep on sailing! It’s the only thing to do.

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Scotland’s climate future Caroline Rance, Climate and Energy Campaigner @CaroRance At the end of May, the Scottish Government published their long-awaited Climate Change Bill. Was it worth the wait? Not quite.

To make our fair share of global climate cuts, the bill should have set a target to end Scotland’s contribution to climate change and reach net-zero emissions by 2040.

Instead it only commits to a 90% reduction in Scotland’s climate emissions by 2050 – a slight increase from the current goal in the 2009 Climate Act, of 80% by 2050.

And while it includes a new section called ‘the net-zero target’, it doesn’t actually set a target date for when the emissions absorbed

by Scotland's forests, peatland and natural environment will exceed the emissions released by industry, agriculture and transport – thus achieving 'net-zero' emissions. Nor does it commit us to cutting much more emissions further in the next decade – only marginally bringing forward their 66% target from 2032 to 2030.

It’s difficult to see how the Government can claim we’ll be one of the first countries in the world to reach 100% emissions cuts when the Climate Bill doesn’t actually set a target date for doing so.

The Government also say this is the toughest climate legislation in the world, but there are a host of other countries already out in the lead.

Less industrialised nations Bhutan and Costa Rica will be climate neutral in the next three

Climate workshop at our Spring Gathering.

years, while even big climate polluters such as France, New Zealand and Sweden have committed to net-zero targets by the middle of this century. It is possible.

The Scottish Government claim that they can’t set a net-zero target today because they don’t know, step-by-step, precisely how to reach it.

This is approaching the problem from the wrong end. The ambition of our climate targets should be shaped by what climate science and climate justice demands in terms of a fair contribution to international efforts, not restricted by the limited vision of current technology.

Why delay? We know the urgency of climate change, and there’s public support.

Over 19,000 people responded to the public consultation last year calling for a net-zero target by 2050 at the latest, but the government have chosen to ignore them. They’re also ignoring advice of eminent global scientists, members of Scotland’s farming community, faith leaders and those on the front line of climate change impacts around the world.

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Scotland’s Climate March in 2015 Photo: Colin Hattersley

This Bill does not deliver on the Paris Agreement. Nor does it deliver climate justice for the millions who are already dealing with the devastating impacts of climate change.

on the Bill. Given that the government doesn’t have a majority in Parliament, every MSP could play a crucial role as we work to strengthen the Bill.

So it is our job to push for urgent action.

Our work as part of Friends of the Earth International connects us to colleagues around the world who are on the climate frontlines. Together we are committed to delivering climate justice. And as this Bill progresses through Parliament we’ll be doing all we can to ensure that the government, all parties and all MSPs understand the need for urgent climate action, and act accordingly.

I’m confident that we can improve this Bill, but we have to work together to do it.

But we need your support. After the summer break, MSPs in the Scottish Parliament will have their say before the Bill finally becomes law. Throughout autumn and into next year, they will scrutinise, debate, amend and vote

We need to make sure that MSPs hear from their constituents about the strong public support for climate action, urging them to go further. Please get in touch with me if you need more information or want to get more involved. crance@foe.scot

Take action to quickly email your MSPs. www.act.foe.scot/climate-zero-2040

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Fracking: when is a ban a ban?

Mary Church, Head of Campaigns @mmachch When Ministers announced an ‘effective ban’ on fracking in October last year, we celebrated a truly momentous win. Six years of powerful grassroots action by campaigners and communities on the frontline of the industry put fracking to the top of the political agenda – highly unusual for an environmental issue – and led first to a temporary moratorium then to what was described by Government as an ‘indefinite moratorium’ and an ‘effective ban’.

Headlines never tell the full story though, and the headlines at that time implied that the ‘ban’ was the end of the story for fracking in Scotland.

How the last 8 months have proven that wrong!

What was clear at the time to those following the issue closely, and is clearer than ever following INEOS’s unsuccessful judicial review against the Scottish Government, is that what Ministers did in October 2017 was use policy levers to ensure that any applications for fracking would be directed to them, enabling them to stop it going ahead. This is not a legally enforceable ban, as Lord Pentland’s ruling made crystal clear.

The risks of this approach were highlighted by us and in Parliament by Labour and Green MSPs who pointed out that the so-called ban depended on an anti-fracking party being in power. A future, pro-fracking Government could overturn the ‘ban’ with the stroke of a pen, and critically, no recourse to Parliament. Measures to strengthen the position by putting the ‘ban’ into the National Planning Framework were supported by a majority of MSPs, including the SNP, but even this would only mean Parliament

was alerted to a potential change in policy – as things stand, the NPF does not require Holyrood’s support.

That’s why as we celebrated, we also called on the Government and Parliament to go further and pass a law banning fracking for good.

So what happens now? The Scottish Government is undertaking a Strategic Environmental Assessment of their policy not to support fracking, something Ministers mentioned in October, but got somewhat lost in the noise. This process is underway and a consultation is expected imminently.

Its unthinkable that the Strategic Environmental Assessment could result in anything other than support for a ban on fracking, given the numerous environmental and health harms the industry brings with it. While it seems very likely that Ministers will stick with their position of ‘no support’ for fracking, it is not at all clear that they would seek to legislate to enforce this.

That’s why we will be keeping the pressure on for a full legal ban that revokes existing licenses.

It’s hard to see how anything other than legislation can rebuild the confidence in the Scottish Government’s position and draw a line under the issue of fracking for good. It’s also the best way to stop a future Government from opening the doors to the frackers once more.

Ministers now have powers over onshore oil and gas licensing – devolved to Holyrood earlier this year – so they have both the means and, crucially, the mandate to do so.

Photo: Maverick Photo Agency

Fracking ‘ban’ in court It’s not exactly surprising that a big corporation which is used to calling the shots and whose interests are directly threatened by the Scottish Government’s opposition to fracking should go to court to try to overturn it. INEOS’s plan to frack the central belt of Scotland has been stopped in its tracks by the ‘effective ban’, while the context here also provides crucial ammunition for communities organising to oppose the company’s plans to frack in over a million acres of license in England.

The company, owned by the recently knighted and current richest man in the UK, Jim Ratcliffe, announced it was suing the Scottish Government

over the legality of its ‘effective ban’ and for compensation due to an alleged breach of its human rights in January.

It is not the first time that Ministers’ decisions have landed them in court, and the Scottish Government tend to fight challenges like this with everything it’s got. In this case that meant the Government’s QC describing the Minister’s words – an ‘effective ban’ – as ‘a gloss’, nothing more than the language of a press release…

A highly uncomfortable position for the Government that has seriously undermined confidence in what the position on fracking actually is.

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The case was heard over 3 days in May, and Lord Pentland issued his opinion on 19 June, agreeing with the Scottish Government’s argument that as there was no legally enforceable ban in place, there was no case to answer, therefore INEOS’s petition was thrown out. The outcome is good news: INEOS was asking the judge to quash the moratorium that had been in place since 2015 and was extended indefinitely in 2017. This would have opened the

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door to fracking. The judge refused to do so. He also found that even if a decision to ban fracking had been made, INEOS would be unlikely to be successful in any claim for compensation.

INEOS has 21 days to appeal the ruling, though the company may also wait until the Scottish Government come to a final decision on fracking and look for grounds on which to challenge that.

Fracking Intervention – a legal first We decided to get involved in the INEOS’s judicial review of the Scottish Government’s ‘effective ban’ on fracking because of its critical importance in the fight against climate change.

The announcement last October represents the first time that Scottish Ministers have said no to a fossil fuel because of, amongst other things, its impact on global warming.

We therefore made a ground breaking public interest intervention in the case: this is the first time such an intervention has been made in defence of the environment in the Scottish courts.

In our intervention we argued that not only is the ban on fracking lawful, but that the Scottish Government is required to ban fracking in order to meet Scotland’s legally binding climate change commitments. We also set out the case for the fundamental human right to a healthy and safe environment, and how fracking may breach this. These arguments would not have been heard without our taking action in this way.

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During the hearing Lord Pentland described our intervention as very helpful. However as the case ended up focusing on the technicality of whether a decision to ban fracking had been made or not, there was no opportunity to examine broader legal arguments around the imperative to ban fracking on environmental grounds.

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This case is one among many which highlight the very real need for a specialist environmental court that can look into the merits of cases, as environmental problems such as climate change become ever more pressing and the legal and scientiďŹ c issues around them ever more complex.

You can read more about the legal case, including our blogs from Court on our website at foe.scot/fracking and our work on Environmental Rights at foe.scot/environmental-rights Thank you so much to all our generous supporters who donated to help make this intervention happen! We raised ÂŁ2,500 towards our legal fees.

Delivering public responses to the fracking consultation.

All Photos: Maverick Photo Agency

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Reclaiming space in Edinburgh!

Emilia Hanna, Air Pollution Campaigner @emiliajaneagain This year National Clean Air Day turned into a Clean Air Week with vibrant and colourful events happening in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Edinburgh City Council closed the Mound and parts of George Street to traffic for two days to celebrate a vision of clean air. That weekend in late June also saw street closures in several parts of Glasgow.

The previous weekend, we coordinated a takeover of 20 car parking spaces in George Street in Edinburgh, at the heart of the City Centre Pollution Zone, to create a vibrant, fun “Pop Up Park”. Inspired by similar “Parking Days” which have happened in cities like Seattle and Bogota, we wanted to link illegal air pollution firmly with the dominance of cars on our streets.

The purpose of our Pop up Park was to shine a light on how much of our urban space is taken up by parking spaces, and to showcase the potential

to reclaim some of this space. In Edinburgh, the amount of Council-provided parking takes up an area the size of the Meadows park (and that’s not even including private, multi-storey or other car parks!). As cities grow, increasing populations will put increasing pressure on urban space meaning that there will be even more of a need to prioritise space-efficient modes of transport.

We wanted to show that taking space away from cars and turning it into pavements, parks, and cycle lanes can be a positive not just for air quality, but also for community cohesion and togetherness.

Drawing on exemplar cities like Copenhagen and Oslo, where roadspace has successfully been reclaimed from cars and priority given to bike lanes and pedestrians, we were able to visually bring the concept of roadspace reallocation to the heart of the Scottish capital and show that this could be possible here too.

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We braved rainy conditions with activities including a yoga class, singing workshop, a workshop on sexuality, gender and the city, plus juggling and facepainting. We hosted an e-bike and e-scooter exhibition, a Pop up Cafe, a games area, and Spokes put together a fantastic installation showcasing how much space one bike takes up compared with one car.

We covered the area with plants, bunting, grass, and banners to demonstrate how beautiful our urban space could be if it was not all concrete!

We got the backing of Cllr Lesley Macinnes, Transport and Environment Convener of Edinburgh Council who said: “this is a lovely idea to mark National Clean Air Day in the Capital.”

Thanks go out to all who supported the event and contributed so much to make it a positive reimagining and reclaiming of the street: Young Friends of the Earth Scotland, Emma Simpson Trans Trainer & Consultant, Spokes, Sustrans, the Bike Station, Caro Bridges, Aimee Mitchell Fife from Still Flow Yoga, Jenny from Shiatsu Connects, the Cyrenians, Robert from eBike.scot, the Tollcross Circus Community, and 2050 Climate Group.

Special thanks must also go to our volunteers Imogen, Cat and Fay. In terms of what’s next, we continue to campaign to ensure that the legacy of June’s events is more than just tokenism. The symbolism shown by Edinburgh and Glasgow City Councils must mark a shift to air quality being prioritised much more highly when designing and implementing planning and transport policies.

We are hoping to see these sorts of events turn into regular Car Free Days in our urban centres. The more we can work together to galvanise public support for these sorts of events, the easier it will be to convince urban planners to transform our streets into ones which give priority to pedestrians, cyclists, and bus users rather than the private car.

All photos: Colin Hattersley

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Challenging the power of fossil fuels Ric Lander, Divestment Campaigner @ricjl It’s not right, but money talks and money makes the world go round. Despite years of scandal, failure and chaos, financiers in the City of London continue to make the big calls on how to invest, and in doing so, hold our common future in their hands. Almost 10 years since the financial crash this is a frightening and precarious state of affairs.

Campaigners are challenging the power of big finance by insisting that investors commit to divest from fossil fuel companies. By demanding divestment we are saying that we know better than the financial industry and in many cases, we are forcing them to act.

And it’s working. Funds worth $6.15 trillion have made some sort of policy commitment to withdraw from fossil fuels. On 24th May the Financial Times reported that UK investment in green funds had “shot to a record high” with a 500 per cent increase over the last 10 years.

However despite more funds “going ethical” such funds still only make up 1.3 per cent of investment. A complete sea change across the sector or top-down regulation by the UK

Government would be needed before the financial industry can spearhead a green revolution for the UK. At the rate which our climate is deteriorating it often feels like we can’t wait for this change: we need campaigning tactics that are more urgent.

But divestment campaigning is also spurring deep changes far outside of the City of London, subtle changes that most wouldn’t even notice are happening.

When Glasgow students won Europe’s first University commitment to divest from all fossil fuels they spurred the reallocation of £18 million of the university’s investments. But they also got one of Scotland’s wealthiest and most influential institutions to make a strong statement against fossil fuel corporations.

Glasgow told big oil ‘we don’t buy your version of the future: be gone’.

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New research suggests that divestment can reshape ‘social norms’ by undermining the credibility of fossil fuel companies.

That is a big deal, because it is the ‘soft power’ held by fossil fuel companies that gives them so much influence in our society. Wealthy and broadly popular companies like these wield huge power over political systems, ensuring that fossil fuels (instead of renewables) benefit from subsidies, low taxes and minimal regulation. By helping to break this power, divestment is making victory for the whole climate change movement possible.

Four years after Glasgow’s victory campaigners at Edinburgh received the same level of commitment from their university – and a whole lot more. A relentless campaign that lasted more than a half decade made new connections with staff and researchers and influenced multiple generations of students.

The continuation of oil and gas research and false solutions like carbon capture and storage in the University had been seriously questioned, as was the presence of polluting companies at careers fairs.

In May the Church of Scotland General Assembly narrowly voted against divestment, to the dismay of just under half of the Church’s delegates. But thanks to the issue being raised 600 or so assembled commissioners spent over two hours discussing action on climate change and what the Church could do about it.

They listened as ministers from as far afield as South India and Malta expressed alarm and dismay at the Kirk’s investments, speaking in blunt terms about the impacts of climate change on communities in poverty. Others brought the problem home to Scotland sharing efforts local churches were making to use electric

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vehicles, go renewable and cut energy usage, and posing difficult but critical questions about how we ensure good employment and vibrant Scottish communities in a fossil free future.

Just as Edinburgh University found these are not all easy provocations to resolve, but by exploring them honestly, and having the conviction to act on what is unearthed, is how communities will solve this problem.

Church of Scotland divestment activists.

Photo: James Buchanan / Operation Noah

Climate change is pretty scary, and a rapid transition away from fossil fuels looks far off whilst oil companies are keeping their choke hold on our society. We need campaigning approaches which are both radical and immediate.

Fossil fuel divestment is giving oil companies the bad reputation they deserve, reclaiming our future from big finance, and provoking profoundly productive debates within institutions and communities.

Research on social norms available at www.foes.do/LSEblog

Edinburgh University People & Planet members camp outside the Principal’s office to protest fossil fuel investments. © Nikita Krahenbuhl

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Just transition – just do it!

Matthew Crighton Climate Jobs Campaigner Ending our dependency on fossil fuels is an opportunity to build a fairer and more equal Scotland. We know that this transition won’t be successful unless it is fair to workers and communities who are currently dependent on jobs in oil and gas, and other high carbon sectors. Our work on Just Transition, reviewed here, is bringing new perspectives and greater breadth to campaigning on climate change.

In the 20 months since the Just Transition Partnership was set up by FoES and the Scottish Trades Union Congress, the term has moved from obscurity to regular usage in debates about climate change.

For example, as we start to lobby to improve the new Climate Change Bill, one of the issues is whether the creation of a Just Transition Commission will be included in the Bill.

an alternative vision of the economy which shows how we can deliver wellbeing and rapid emissions reductions together.

Committing to a Just Transition would move discussion on from setting of targets to the concrete actions which are needed to shift our economy rapidly away from fossil fuels; and how they will be done – the ‘what?’ and the ‘how?’ not ‘whether?’. Thinking about the impacts of these changes on jobs and communities can ensure that they sustain employment opportunities, build greater inclusion and protect the places affected.

That in turn builds popular support.

As well as proposing the Just Transition Commission, which was agreed by the Scottish Government last year, the Just Transition Partnership is calling for the mission of the new Scottish National Investment Bank to be tied directly to financing the Just Transition. It is also advocating the establishment of a publicly-owned company with a remit to decarbonise energy supplies as well as tackle fuel poverty.

The news that investments in renewable energy projects have fallen by 56% in 2017 shows that the privatised utilities and the energy markets are failing to deliver on public policy objectives even if they do generate profits for corporate shareholders.

Oil rigs in Cromarty Firth Image: Ric Lander.

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Anti-fracking protestors at Grangemouth in 2015

Greater public and social ownership is needed to drive forward rapid investment in generation and distribution. However the current plans for a government-owned energy company focus only on selling electricity and gas from the wholesale markets on to consumers.

When we set up the Just Transition Partnership we agreed it should focus on the way in which industrial policy is done in Scotland, because it had failed to create significant numbers of permanent jobs on the back of the growth in renewables generation, in particular almost no manufacturing jobs. We have to promote an alternative vision of the economy which shows how we can deliver wellbeing and rapid emissions reductions together, which means also contesting conventional and neo-liberal views about the economy.

The latest debate about the future of the Scottish economy was stimulated by the Growth Commission report. We shared the concern of many commentators that its traditional, business-friendly approach would perpetuate the UK’s fiscal and regulatory approach which has given us austerity and underinvestment. Both sides of this debate missed its failure to recognise that investing for a zero-carbon economy should drive our approach to economic development. (It also infuriated environmentalists by using the term ‘sustainable growth’ to mean that it could go on indefinitely, rather than be set within environmental limits!).

The principles of Just Transition imply a critique of economic policy as well as a positive approach to meeting emissions reductions targets which is shared by environmental organisations and trade unions. Now it is starting to command broader support across a wide political spectrum. It’s time to make it better known, at local as well as national levels. As debates about the Climate Change Bill, the Scottish National Investment Bank and publicly-owned energy companies heat up after the summer, that’s what we are aiming to do.

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Skill Share Abi Melton, YFoES Events and Training intern January – May 2018 This April, Young Friends of the Earth Scotland hosted a three-day Skill Share event in the highland town of Pitlochry.

This was an opportunity for young activists to come together from across Scotland and share knowledge, skills and experiences, build networks, and explore different ways of working in a safe, supportive and creative environment.

Drawing from the YFoES commitment to bridge the intersection between environmental and social justice, we invited young people involved in any type of activism, or with an interest or desire to get involved, to join us.

What's a skill share anyway?

During a skill share, a group of people come together and share their knowledge, experience and skills. In contrast to traditional training, conferences or workshops, a skill share is structured non-hierarchally, actively valuing the experiences that everyone brings to the space. It is a radically different way of working, and challenges conventional power systems and structures.

We choose to organise skill shares because of the way they link to our commitment to participative democracy and empowering youth. The event was coordinated by volunteers, supported by YFoES staff, and everyone was involved in the creation of the event, sharing responsibilities such as monitoring energy levels and social media. We see skill shares as a chance to enact horizontal and consensus decision making, to experiment with ways of organising and working that go against conventional knowledge, and to develop our organisational skills, practices and processes.

This was an opportunity for young activists to come together from across Scotland and share knowledge, skills and experiences, build networks, and explore different ways of working in a safe, supportive and creative environment.

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What did we do?

The event was held over three days at the Atholl Centre, a venue that combined dormitory style rooms with meeting spaces and kitchen facilities.

The event was catered by the ‘Free Vegan Cookout’ – a community food initiative that introduces the public to sustainable vegan eating through fun outreach events, cook outs and tasty grub. They made sure we had enough porridge to last months!

The event was structured as a series of whole group discussions, activities, smaller break out workshops, games, songs, and open spaces.

Whilst the event had a lot of flexibility, we asked all participants to attend the power and privilege workshop (which introduced and developed understandings of intersectionality, identity and privilege) if they felt able to. This provided a framework through which we understood the groups relationships to each other, and helped us all to work towards a safe, inclusive and accessible space across the whole weekend.

Why is it important to have spaces for young activists in Scotland?

Whilst technology has changed how we communicate and connects us more than ever,

the social media landscape can be difficult to navigate and challenging to translate to tangible action. There is something energising, inspiring and validating about face-to-face contact with other young organisers and activists. Creating and holding space for young people is a crucial part of the work YFoES do, especially as we face the consequences of environmental destruction, neoliberal capitalism, and a democratic system where our voices aren't heard.

Strengthening connections Overall, the event was an empowering experience, and we received a lot of positive feedback. The Free Vegan Cookout did an amazing job catering such a large event for the first time and all the workshops were engaging, informative and prompted much further discussion.

More than anything, there was a feeling of community and solidarity. The final activity involved passing a ball of string between us as we reflected on the event; the web of string this created representing the network we had built over the 3 days and the links between us that will strengthen and develop into the future.

Photos from the skill share by Irma Muller

Keep in touch with us @youngfoes

@yfoes

www.foe.scot/young

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Pressure on Edinburgh Council to aim for Zero Carbon Matthew Crighton, FoE Edinburgh Friends of the Earth Edinburgh’s lobbying has succeeded in persuading the Council to place a much greater emphasis on investment in low-carbon projects in its Economy Strategy.

This follows the inclusion of a zero carbon aspiration in the draft of the city’s long term vision.

We followed this up with the presentation of our petition to the Council’s Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee. The revised Economy Strategy presented at the following meeting now has ‘Support Edinburgh’s transition to a low carbon economy’ as the third of its eight principles.

Edinburgh Council’s 2050 City Vision is seeking to set out principles which should guide the development of the city. In the initial consultation phase in 2017 we noticed that environmental issues were not featuring strongly and the need to get to zero carbon by 2050 seemed not to have been noticed.

So at the Edinburgh World Justice Festival we launched a petition to ensure climate action featured more prominently in Edinburgh’s City Vision.

We know that constant pressure is still needed to convert strategic statements into change on the ground. But it is a good start.

The group is continuing to meet regularly, but we’re always happy to see new faces.

Find out about our latest meetings at www.facebook.com/foeedinburgh/

We were delighted when the four draft principles published in February did include zero carbon, but then noticed that Council plans like the draft of the new Economy Strategy hadn’t caught up. At a deputation to the Housing and Economy Committee, we argued that planned investment in a decisive shift towards a zero carbon city can boost employment and, if done according to Just Transition principles, make the city a more prosperous and inclusive place.

Despite having to face down Conservative Councillor Cameron Rose, whose questions suggested he didn't think climate change was much of a problem, there was a positive response from other Councillors present and it was agreed that more work was needed.

Find a Local Group near you www.foe.scot/local-groups/

Activists in Edinburgh formed a ‘Big Zero’ at the Scott Monument.

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Glasgow Low Emission Zone dubbed ‘No Ambition Zone’ Emilia Hanna Air Pollution Campaigner Our Glasgow Low Emission Zone (LEZ) campaign culminated in mid June with the City Council approving a Zone which will apply emissions restrictions to all vehicles in the city centre from 2022, with dirty buses to be gradually phased out starting from this year.

In a remarkable turn of events, SNP Councillors did not back a Labour amendment to strengthen the Low Emission Zone proposals and instead backed a Tory amendment which watered down the administration’s own plans and removed the consideration of congestion charging as part of the scheme. This was despite the SNP, along with the Greens, being more supportive of LEZs than Labour were ahead of last year’s local council elections.

The result is a partial victory for Friends of the Earth Scotland. We wanted to see a much stronger Low Emission Zone, which came into force more quickly and were naturally disappointed with 2022 as the compliance date. But we are convinced that without our work and the tireless work of Friends of the Earth Glasgow, a Low Emission Zone for Glasgow would not even have been on the table.

Outside the final Glasgow Council meeting in June

Our local group has organised public meetings, run street stalls and protested outside the city chambers over the last few years and we should be proud of our achievements. Of course, we will continue to push Glasgow City Council harder on their LEZ and watch out for back-sliding. We will be looking to ramp up the pressure on Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee to do even better as they design their LEZs in the coming months and years.

Sara, FoE Glasgow in February 2018

We take so much from the planet during our lives, and it gives us so much pleasure, it seemed like the right thing to do to give something back for future generations.

With the support of thousands of people like you we’ve secured safer food and water, defended wildlife and natural habitats, defeated the fracking industry and coal-burning power stations, and delivered a world-leading climate act for Scotland. We need to keep campaigning on these issues today. And we need to be Scotland’s voice for the planet tomorrow and in the years to come.

With your support, we can continue improving lives by inspiring effective solutions to environmental problems. You don’t have to be wealthy to leave a gift in your will. A gift of any amount can help protect the environment for the future.

You can call Alice on 0131 243 2700 for more information about leaving a gift in your will to Friends of the Earth Scotland or email ajohnston@foe.scot You are vital to the future – for everyone.

Friends of the Earth Scotland is an independent Scottish charity SC003442